Thumbs up to the organizers of and all
those involved with the Lynchburg Community Court

As Published
in the March 23rd, Lynchburg News & Advance

Thumbs up to the organizers of
and all those involved with the Lynchburg Community Court, an innovative
criminal justice program that began here in Lynchburg in January.

The program is targeted at juveniles charged with non-violent crimes and is
the first of its kind in Virginia. The concept of a “community court”
developed in New York City in the early 1990s as a way to give prosecutors
and judges sentencing alternatives for certain at-risk offenders. The
philosophy of the program is to make certain offenders face the consequences
of their crimes, but also to fight the underlying causes of their
offensives.

As reported in The News & Advance on Thursday, there are only about 30
community courts operating in the United States, but the concept has an
international fan club with programs operating in countries such as
Australia and South Africa. Lynchburg’s program got off the ground with a
$250,000 grant.

In order to enter the community court program, the defendant must be charged
with nothing more serious than a nonviolent misdemeanor. Prosecutors
scrutinize the case of each possible entrant before the invitation to
participate is extended. Right now, there are about two dozen people making
their way through the program.

According to Shannnon Hadeed, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney for
Lynchburg, the judge and lawyers involved are “fashioning a sentence to fit
both the person and the crime.” Part of the sentence usually involves some
way to make restitution to the community for the offense, often in the form
of community service.

The goal of prosecutors and jurists in each case is simple: Catch criminal
behavior in the early stages before it becomes ingrained and the offender
becomes a public threat. It’s a worthy goal and deserves the community’s
support.